


(darling I want) all the strings attached

by maxverstappens (juliansweigl)



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: M/M, Marriage Proposal, there's a TINY bit of angst but i swear it's not much, they're idiots ok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-09 06:51:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18911770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juliansweigl/pseuds/maxverstappens
Summary: He’s losing his mind, he’s sure of that much. The rational side of his brain has been absolutely no help in screaming at him that this is a terrible idea and so, he freezes. He stands in the middle of his apartment staring at the box sitting in his palm as though it’s a foreign object, his thumb against the edge, ready to flick it open but not daring to.alternatively, Daniel wants to propose to Max but Max doesn't make it easy for him.





	(darling I want) all the strings attached

**Author's Note:**

> hi. hey. i'm back (again) with ANOTHER one shot because apparently revising for uni exams is the last thing i want to do lmao. anyway, enjoy these dumb boys! :')
> 
> \- fun fact this was only supposed to be half of this length originally, like damn, I love rambling when it comes to these two, huh
> 
> (also the title is from strings by shawn mendes - who deserves a s/o for helping me finish this one shot, I couldn’t have done it without his songs on spotify)

He’s losing his mind, he’s sure of that much. The rational side of his brain has been absolutely no help in screaming at him that this is a terrible idea and so, he freezes. He stands in the middle of his apartment staring at the box sitting in his palm as though it’s a foreign object, his thumb against the edge, ready to flick it open but not daring to.

 

He glares at it, wondering just _what_ or who possessed him to make such a rash decision, this time he does ignore the rational side of his brain telling him that he’d been subconsciously thinking about this for the best part of three months and that this isn’t as rushed of a decision as he’s making it out to be.

 

The knock on the door is what causes Daniel to jump so high that he can only launch the box across the apartment, watching it fly into his bedroom and bounce on the carpeted floor before disappearing behind a cabinet. There’s no point going to grab it now, Daniel just drags a hand through his curls and crosses the hallway, pulling open the door-

 

Max stares at him. Daniel frowns and raises his eyebrows, waiting for Max to stop scrutinizing him.

 

“... What have you done?” Max asks, voice as skeptical as his expression.

 

“I haven’t done anything. Stop looking at me like that.” Daniel weaves, immediately stepping back and trying to school his expression but Max is still watching him carefully. “Are you coming in or-?” Daniel asks him, already turned around and walking back into the apartment.

 

“Are you going to tell me why you’re acting weird?” Max counters, entering the apartment regardless and kicking the door shut with the back of his foot.

 

Daniel grins and spins on his heel. “Can you stop assuming something’s wrong, there’s _nothing_ wrong with me.”

 

Max looks unconvinced but drops his bag in the hall and crosses the apartment in two steps and wraps his arms around Dan and nuzzles his face into Dan’s hoodie, sighing contentedly. Max’s fingers twist into the fabric of the hoodie and his head feels heavy against Dan’s chest but neither of them have the heart or the energy to move, not that they have to. They don’t - well, not until Daniel’s arm starts to feel dead under the weight of holding Max against him so he nudges him - nothing.

 

“Max.”

 

Silence.

 

“ _Max._ ” Daniel tries again, poking at Max’s ribs but all that does it cause Max to squirm and cling on tighter, mumbling incoherently. “It’s not even noon yet, _how_ are you this tired?”

 

“M’not tired, Dan. I’m just sleepy.” Max explains, stifling a yawn, as though there’s a difference.

 

Daniel humours Max as he detangles his boyfriend from him and weaves around until Max essentially falls onto the couch rather ungracefully, reaching for the remote control and switches the TV on, mindlessly beginning to flick through the channels. Daniel’s gaze flickers over to his bedroom door that is halfway open and for a second he thinks about going to hide the ring but-

 

“Are you going to stand there all day?” Max asks, glancing up for the briefest of seconds before turning his attention back to the TV.

 

Daniel tears his gaze away from the bedroom and moves to sit on the couch beside him, immediately holding his arm out for Max to curl himself into Dan’s body, in the way they’ve done it for years. Max with his head on Dan’s shoulder, tucking himself underneath Dan’s chin and his arm slung over Dan’s stomach.

 

A sense of familiarity in their messed up sense of normality now.

 

Max is barely paying attention to the TV, having stopped flicking through the channels and is now just fighting sleep as he curls himself more into Dan, his grip on Daniel’s hoodie tightening as his eyes flutter between open and closed.

 

“You haven’t even been here for ten minutes.” Daniel teases, jabbing Max in the ribs causing him to jostle around and half-heartedly slap him in retaliation. “Sleep, it’s okay.”

 

“I was planning on it.” Max tells him,

 

Daniel just laughs as he turns and presses a kiss to Max’s hair, leaning over him to grab the remote, Max whines at the jostling before relaxing and slumping fully against Dan’s body.

 

“It’s _so_ good to have you home, baby.” Daniel mumbles, voice laced with a sarcastic fondness as he switches the channel.  

 

It’s a little after two when Max stirs, waking Daniel up in the process, the crappy movie that Daniel had switched to just showing the final credits as he opens his eyes and takes a second or two to adjust to the sudden brightness in the room. Max stirs once more but doesn’t actually wake up, he is now lying with his head on Dan’s lap though, his hands bunched up in his boyfriend’s hoodie as he relaxes back into sound sleep.

 

Daniel is still on the verge of falling back asleep thirty minutes later when Max finally wakes up and mumbles something incoherent, pushing himself up so that he’s sitting beside Dan and rubbing the remains of sleep out his eyes. Daniel flicks his gaze over to Max and stretches his arm out, Max immediately curling back into his side but _this_ time he does manage to stay awake.

 

“How busy are you this week?” Max asks, breaking the long silence that’s taken over the pair of them,

 

“Super busy. That’s why I asked you here.” Daniel replies, the sarcasm dripping from his tone.

 

Max doesn’t feel an ounce of guilt about the slap to Dan’s shoulder he gives him in retaliation. It’s only when Max tries to slap him for a second time does Daniel catch his hand and press a kiss to the base of his palm. Max twists until he can lace his fingers with his boyfriend’s as he leans up and kisses him.

 

“I didn’t do that when I got here-”

 

“- Because I was acting _strange?_ ” Daniel interrupts, smirking in Max’s direction.

 

“You were.” Max deadpans but he doesn’t hesitate to kiss his boyfriend once more. “I’m still convinced you are.” Max mumbles against Dan’s mouth and moves to swing his leg over Dan’s and straddle him.

 

“Stop talking.” Daniel grumbles and holds onto Max’s hips as he pushes forward, and tickles Max’s sides,

 

Max parts his lips, jerking away from Dan’s hands as Daniel easily slides his tongue past Max’s lips and licks into his mouth. Max grinds his hips against Daniel’s to get his own back and smirks at the gasp that falls from his boyfriend’s lips.

 

“Bedroom?” Dan suggests, the word vibrating against Max’s lips as Dan wraps his arms fully around Max and holds him in place.

 

Max makes a strangled noise in response as he clumsily clambers to his feet, nearly knocking into the coffee table in the process as he grabs Dan’s hand and pulls him in the direction of the bedroom.

 

***

 

“What are you doing?” Max asks sleepily, eyes fluttering between open and closed and pulls himself up until he’s sitting.

 

Daniel jumps from where he’s kneeling down beside a cabinet, he snaps his head towards the bed where Max is staring at him, eyes narrowed as he raises his eyebrows at his boyfriend.

 

“Nothing.” Daniel squeaks and shoves the ring box back under the cabinet, “I thought you were asleep?”

 

“I was but now I’m not.” Max deadpans, “come back,”

 

“Still tired?” Dan smirks,

 

He really should’ve seen the pillow that Max launches at him coming.

 

Max falls back down and burrows his face in the pillow, stretching out his arm and waiting for Daniel to walk back over to the bed and climb in, sliding his arms around Max’s waist. Max harrumphs into the pillow but relaxes and rests his own arm atop of Dan’s, already being lulled back into a deep sleep with the rise and fall of his boyfriend’s chest.

 

Daniel glances down to the bottom of his room and manages to catch a glimpse of the ring box wedged underneath the floor of the cabinet. Sighing, Daniel just drops his head until his lips are pressed against the back of Max’s neck, feeling himself succumbing to at least another hour of sleep.

 

When Daniel wakes up the next time, he’s alone in bed and it games him off-guard for a second until he hears clattering coming from outside the bedroom. Something hits the kitchen counter followed by a string of swear words-

 

“Baby!” Daniel shouts, dropping his head back to the pillow but managing to stretch far enough to be able to see outside of the bedroom door, “what _are_ you doing?!”

 

No answer.

 

Daniel sighs, kicking the covers off himself and grabbing the first items of clothing he can find from the floor, pulling them on and shuffling to the door of the bedroom, his feet sinking into the beige carpet as he stops at the door, dragging a hand through his hair to try and ruffle up his sleep-matted curls when he spies Max standing by the kitchen counter, his backpack beside him but all of the contents seemingly tipped out of it and he’s _definitely_ looking for something.

 

“Baby?”

 

Max jumps at the voice, snapping his head around towards the bedroom with wide eyes. Daniel raises his eyebrows, trying to hide the amused smile behind confusion at whatever the fuck Max is doing-

 

“You okay?”

 

“Fine.”

 

“What are you doing then?”

 

“Nothing.” Max grins, his hands gripping the edge of the counter until his knuckles turn white but he doesn’t break eye contact once, can’t tear his gaze away for the life of him. “I thought you were asleep.”

 

“I could say the same about you."

 

Max shrugs. “I was just trying to find my phone charger.”

 

Daniel stares at him, biting back wanting to call Max out on _that_ bullshit excuse but instead he just humours his boyfriend and doesn’t point out that Max’s charger is sitting on the edge of the counter and that his own is in plain view over by the couch.

 

“I’m just… give me a minute to put all this away.” Max mumbles as he starts gathering up all of things from the counter and chucking them haphazardly back into his backpack before zipping it up.

 

Daniel brushes his fingers across Max’s jaw when Max passes him at the bedroom door, leaning down to steal a kiss before moving to go and flop out on the couch, revelling in the fact that it’s only mid-afternoon yet he has absolutely nothing to do.

 

Rare,

 

Daniel stretches and just about manages to grasp the corner of his phone from the table, pulling it to him and unlocking it. He’s just managed to open up Instagram when he feels a heavy weight on his stomach and Max’s hair against the back of his hand.

 

“Comfortable?” Dan asks him, lifting his hand to thread through Max’s hair as his other one holds his phone as he scrolls through different posts.

 

Max makes a noise somewhere between a sigh and a contented purr in response. Dan smiles and keeps brushing his hand through Max’s hair when he stops at one post,

 

An old friend, just got engaged to his girlfriend on holiday.  

 

Daniel automatically glances down to Max and finds him completely interested in the TV and paying no attention to Dan except for where he’s absentmindedly caressing Dan’s hip where his shirt has ridden up.

 

For all the thinking he’s done about it, he hasn’t imagined how he’s going to even attempt to propose. Hasn’t even begun to think about whether Max would even say yes or if he’d just stare blankly at him, the same way Max stares at him when he’s on the phone to his mum and talking a mile a minute and Max can barely understand him through his accent.

 

“Hey!” Max screeches,

 

Dan’s hand falls when Max sits up with a scowl on his face.

 

“Why did you just pull my hair - _fuck_ \- that hurt.” He grumbles and flattens down hair from where it’s now sticking up.

 

Daniel smiles sheepishly. “Sorry, I got distracted. Come back.”

 

Max looks skeptical but returns to his previous position and Dan’s hand moves back to his hair.

 

Dan sighs and holds his phone in front of Max’s eyes, blocking the TV. Max blinks and pushes the phone away before taking it and looking at the post that Dan’s been concentrating on for the last couple of minutes.

 

“Good for them.” Max smiles before he hands Dan his phone back,

 

“Do you ever think about it?” Daniel asks, gaze clouding over as he stares at the wall in front of him, completely aware that Max has tilted his head back and is now looking at him.

 

“Your friends? Not that much.”

 

“Not funny.” Daniel groans but Max looks pretty satisfied, “I meant… well… getting married.”

 

“I know what you meant, babe.” Max states with an eye roll as he moves up until he can rest his head on Dan’s chest and close his eyes. “Do _you_ think about it?”

 

“I asked you first.”

 

“Why?”

 

“I’m just asking, _Jesus,_ Max.” Daniel laughs but the sheer sound of it is forced and Dan almost grimaces at the sound.

 

Max scrunches his face up before relaxing and raking a hand through his hair, fluffing it up even more than the good few hours of sleep he’s had today had. The longer he stays quietly judging Daniel the more Daniel gets agitated but swallows it down, _it’s just a question,_ isn’t this the type of stuff couples talk about anyway?

 

“One day, I suppose.” Max shrugs before making a non-committal sound and turning his attention back to the TV. “Not yet though, _definitely_ not yet.”

 

Daniel sighs and lets his fingers dance along Max’s shoulders, humming in agreement but his face is all but blank as he tries to focus on what’s currently playing on the TV.

 

“Yeah, same, _same._ ” Daniel mumbles halfheartedly but Max isn’t listening.

 

***

 

After finally hiding the ring in a safe place and by safe place Dan means in a box on the top shelf of a cupboard in his bedroom, Daniel relaxes for all of five minutes.

 

He doesn’t initially intend to set out to change Max’s mind but it becomes a strange sort of challenge for Daniel. He doesn’t actively try to hint at it twenty four hours a day but more often than not he’s mentioning the subject in different conversations - he even asks Max to be his date to said friend’s wedding but Max only mumbles out responses and gives Dan disinterested grunts in response to whenever the subject is brought up.

 

They’re watching a movie, Dan doesn’t know what movie because he woke up after it had started and when he’d asked Max - Max had only slammed his hand over Dan’s mouth and whispered to him to shut up because he’s trying to watch it. Max has his legs swung over Dan’s and he’s yet to even tear his gaze from the TV, pulling at a loose thread on the blanket that’s swung over them.

 

“Baby?” Daniel tries again,

 

Max glares at him. “It’s not over yet,”

 

Daniel rolls his eyes until he hears wedding march music coming from the TV and suddenly his interest is piqued. Out of the corner of his eye, he clocks the way Max notices that he’s suddenly interested in the TV and watches the roll of his boyfriend’s eyes that follows.

 

“Weddings are great.”

 

Max frowns,

 

“Aren’t they?” Daniel tries again, digging his fingers into Max’s side causing him to squirm and try to pull himself away. “They’re so much fun.”

 

“They’re okay, I guess.” Max shrugs, still not pulling his gaze away from the TV. “I just don’t get the hype.”

 

Daniel scowls but doesn’t say anything, just leans back and stares at the TV with an unreadable expression on his face. Max sighs and turns fully to face Dan, pulling himself up until they’re almost face to face.

 

“Hey, what’s up with you?” Max asks, placing one hand clumsily on Dan’s cheek,

 

“Nothing.” Dan mumbles but sighs once Max doesn’t move away, his thumb caressing Daniel’s cheekbone with a featherlight touch. “I just think you’re really boring for not liking weddings.”

 

Max scrunches his nose up and smiles. “I guess you just get boring when you get older.”

 

“You know, every time you refer to yourself as old - I feel about sixty.” Daniel grumbles and turns his head to place a kiss on the base of Max’s palm.

 

“If you were sixty we would _not_ to be dating.” Max deadpans, raising his eyebrows at Dan.

 

“I love you too.” Daniel sarcastically draws out,

 

Max just smirks and leans back, turning his head back towards the TV to catch the last _however many fucking_ minutes are left of the movie.

 

It goes one for two more days, Daniel trying to annoy Max into talking about marriage but Max either just not taking the bait and completely ignoring him or the one time he kicked Dan’s shin until he promised to shut up about it (which he did… for an hour at the most).

 

“Hey… Max?” Daniel calls out, walking through the apartment with his eyes on his phone.

 

“I swear to god if you mention another thing about weddings I’m going to throw my shoe at you.” Max groans without missing a beat,

 

“Morning to you too.” Daniel scowls, “I was just going to ask if you’re spending Christmas with me this year.”

 

“... It’s May.” Max reminds him, “I’m not even over last Christmas yet, can you just - not.”

 

Daniel shrugs and pockets his phone before sliding up behind him and wrapping his arms around Max’s waist, pressing a kiss to the base of his neck and not wanting to let go, the thought of going to the gym on the bottom of the list of what Daniel wants to do with Max right now.

 

“Do we have to-?”

 

“Yes.” Max answers before Daniel has even finished asking him.

 

“I can think of better ways to work up a sweat.” Dan murmurs and Max shivers when he can feel Dan’s smirk against the side of his neck,

 

Max has never needed _much_ convincing so when he instinctively moves back against his boyfriend, his resolve has all but melted away.

 

“The gym is _far_ away.” Max reasons.

 

“It is.” Daniel agrees already beginning to pepper kisses all along Max’s jaw.

 

Max spins around and his hands fly to Dan’s hair, fingers threading through his curls as he finally captures his boyfriend’s lips between his own.

 

“The gym can wait.”

 

Daniel smirks against Max’s mouth, circling his arms around Max’s waist. “Thought you might say that.”

 

***

 

“Are you asleep?” Daniel asks, gaze flickering from his phone to Max who has his head against Dan’s chest, eyes closed but his breathing isn’t as even as it usually is when he’s sleeping.

 

“Yeah,” Max mumbles, pulling the covers further up until they’re covering the entire bottom half of his face.

 

“ _Clearly,_ wake up, I want to talk to you.”

 

“I don’t know what time it is but I’m sure it’s too late to talk about anything.” Max mumbles and tightens his grip on Dan.

 

Daniel moves and in turn Max is forced to sit up and rub his eyes sleepily as he tries to muster up his best glare which considering how tired he feels - isn’t that ferocious. Daniel lets his fingers twist in Max’s t-shirt sleeve,

 

Max stifles his yawn and settles down beside Dan, nearly dropping back off immediately but he settles for dropping his head to Dan’s shoulder and sighing quietly.

 

“Baby-”

 

“This can't be good.” Max mumbles, lifting his hand to rub at his eyes again, the light despite how warm it is taking longer to adjust to than Max wishes it would.

 

“We would have the sickest wedding.”

 

“Oh, for fuck sake!” Max cries out, immediately rolling over and pulling the blankets over his head. “I swear to fucking god if you mention anything to do with us getting married again, I’m breaking up with you before there’s even a chance of a wedding.”

 

Daniel frowns, the amused grin that was twitching at the corners of his mouth diminishes with the forceful annoyance in Max’s voice. Max doesn’t pull the blankets from atop of his head so Daniel just sighs and locks his phone, setting it aside and getting ready for sleep.

 

“Dan?” Max calls out a couple of minutes later,

 

Daniel’s eyes are closed and he doesn’t answer.

 

The mood shifts between them after that. Daniel stops joking around about marriage, Max goes back to scrutinizing him when he’s sure Daniel isn’t watching (he is but he never calls Max out on it) and they proceeds to stay in their pitiful attempt of the silent treatment along with a tenseness that follows the pair of them around throughout the days.

 

Max plays FIFA for most of the day and Daniel spends the rest of the time on his laptop, barely paying attention to it though, he just watches the back of Max’s head as he continues to play, exhaling a sigh. He glances down when his phone chimes with a new email, an email from the same jewelers that he bought the ring from. Tapping his fingers against the edge of the dining table, Daniel just scowls and goes back to what he was previously doing - _nothing_ but that’s beside the point.

 

If he wasn’t sure before he bought the damned ring in the first place that he was about to rush headfirst into something timed ridiculously wrong - he knows now. He should’ve at least gauged Max’s thoughts on this before he’d bought it, he shouldn’t have just let his fucking feelings override every single rational thought in his head.

 

Deleting the email, Daniel tries to ignore the way that his eyes automatically fly to his bedroom door.

 

Max starts muttering from where he’s sitting on the floor before he turns around and stares at Daniel, gaze unwavering as Dan tilts his head to the side to meet his eyes for the first time - since that morning at least. Dan raises his eyebrows and Max looks like he’s about to say something but he shakes his head, turning back around to face the TV and Daniel doesn’t even have the energy to scoff.

 

They spend the rest of the afternoon like that. Sitting in the same room, doing different things, wanting to say something, get past the budding awkwardness but neither thinking of anything to say. Max gives up on FIFA and falls asleep on the couch, Daniel closes his laptop and goes into the bedroom, looking over his shoulder but Max is dead to the world so he stands on his tiptoes and just about manages to wrap the tips of his fingers around the ring box and pulls it down. He holds it between his thumb and forefinger and stares at it before flicking it open. The silver ring stares up at him, mocking him as Dan runs his thumb across the top of it.

 

_Fuck it. If he says no, he says no._

 

Daniel shoves the box in his sweatpants pocket and walks back out of the room to start dinner, _actually_ cooking something this time.

 

Max wakes up some time in the middle of Daniel preparing dinner and starting to cook it and Daniel tries not to feel too offended by the fact that he doesn’t feel Max pressed up behind him the way he usually does.

 

Dinner is quiet but Daniel just presses his foot up against Max’s and in response Max _doesn’t_ kick it away, so, small victories. They’re quiet until they’re not,

 

“What’s wrong with you?” Max asks, dropping his fork to his plate and setting his gaze on his boyfriend,

 

Daniel shrugs, dangling his own fork in mid-air. “I could ask you the same if I’m being honest.”

 

Max frowns, “what? There’s nothing wrong with me.”

 

Daniel scoffs and raises his eyebrows, “yeah? Tell me why you got so annoyed at the constant joking around about getting married then.” Daniel draws his words out slowly, gaze never leaving Max’s face for even the notion of a second.  

 

Max shifts uncomfortably. “I don’t-? I just-” he tries but he gives up as soon as he’s started, twisting his fingers in the hoodie he stole from Daniel yesterday.

 

Daniel drops his fork and reaches into his pocket, taking a deep breath before pulling the box out and placing it nonchalantly on the dining table in front of Max. Daniel doesn’t have to look at Max to hear the sharp breath that his boyfriend inhales-

 

Max is suddenly pushing back his chair and standing up though and Daniel tries to tell himself that he’s _not_ being rejected. Max’s face is blank as he walks past Daniel and straight to the bedroom. Dan braces himself for the door slamming but it doesn’t come and instead there’s a crash and a softly muttered _fuck me._

 

“Max?!”

 

“Stay there!” Max shouts back,

 

There’s another crash before Max reappears in the doorway, the sleeves of Dan’s hoodie covering his hands as he smiles sheepishly before walking back to the dining table and dropping something down atop of it. It’s a black box, similar size and Daniel is staring up at Max with realisation mixed with a crazed sense of confusion in his eyes.

 

“Is that what I think it is?” Daniel asks and every single word sounds foreign on his tongue as Max shrugs once more-

 

Max grabs the box and falls to one knee, flicking it open and looking remarkably smug when he meets Daniel’s eyes.

 

“Will you marry me?” Max asks,

 

Daniel scowls. “I really thought I’d be the one asking you this.”

 

“Is that a yes or no?” Max huffs but there’s a smile tugging at the corners of his lips,

 

Daniel wraps his hand around the back of Max’s neck and leans in to kiss him, mumbling a _yes_ against Max’s mouth. Max grins and stumbles back to his feet,

 

“Can I propose now?”

 

“You know, we are _technically_ already engaged.” Max deadpans, “fine,” he smiles when Daniel’s smile falters.

 

Grabbing his own ring, he gets down on one knee and scowls at Max.

 

“Well, you stole my fucking moment-” Daniel starts, Max smirks “- but, marry me anyway?”

 

Max crosses his arms over his chest. “I’ll think about it,” he teases, scrunching his nose up as Daniel clambers to his feet and wraps his arms around Max’s shoulders, swinging the open ring box between his fingers and staring at Max. “Yeah, I suppose so.”

 

“Idiot.” Daniel mumbles as he leans in to kiss Max once again.

 

_Hours later when they’re curled up on the couch, freshly showered with the remaining droplets of water in their hair dripping onto their shirts and the blanket that’s covering them, their legs intertwined on the coffee table with Netflix playing in the background-_

 

_“Dan?” Max calls out sleepily, feeling the warmth from his fiancé and the apartment lulling him towards an early night._

 

_Daniel looks just as exhausted when he turns his head, “yeah?”_

 

_“We’re going to have the sickest wedding.”_

 

_And Daniel surges forward to press his mouth against Max’s, unable to stop grinning. “Yeah. Yeah we fucking are.”_

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr!](https://landonenorris.tumblr.com)


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